L.A. County initiates program to supply recycling receptacles for area beaches

The Los Angeles County Department of Beaches and Harbors implemented a new beach recycling program Monday, October 5th after securing a grant from the California Department of Conservation.

Thirty-two recycling barrels will be placed along county beaches, including in the third and fourth districts, which are represented by Supervisors Zev Yaroslavsky and Don Knabe, respectively.

The recycling areas will have two blue, side-by-side, 30-gallon capacity barrels to help keep recyclable cans, glass and plastic bottles off the beach and out of the ocean.

Approximately 60 million people visit Los Angeles County beaches annually and until now, there has not been a widespread recycling program encouraging visitors to recycle beverage containers instead of placing them in the trash or leaving them behind, county officials said.

Last year Californians recycled more than 16.1 billion beverage containers, an increase of more than 1.4 billion containers compared to 2007. California continues to lead the nation in total quantity of cans and bottles recycled. It is estimated that implementation of the recycling program will divert 20 percent of beach trash from local landfills, county officials said.

For additional information about the project, Beaches and Harbors at (310) 305-9503 or www.marinadelrey@lacounty.gov/.